The Raconteurs Score Their First No. 1 Album With 'Help Us Stranger'

ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 12: Jack White of The Raconteurs performs at Orlando Calling Music Festival - Day 1 at Florida Citrus Bowl on November 12, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Scott Legato/WireImage)

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It’s been 11 years since they last released an album, but clearly fans of The Raconteurs were eager to hear more, even after all that time had passed. The band’s new record Help Us Stranger debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard 200, granting the band their first such success on the all-encompassing albums ranking.

Help Us Stranger opens at No. 1 thanks to 88,000 equivalent units, almost all of which (84,000) are actual sales.

The band’s newly-released third album is their first to climb all the way to the top of the Billboard 200 and their third to enter the top 10. The group’s two other full-lengths, 2006’s Broken Boy Soldiers and 2008’s Consolers of the Lonely, both stalled at No. 7 in the U.S.

The Raconteurs may have only reached the top 10 for the third time, but front man Jack White has done so on many occasions, and under a handful of monikers. As one half of The White Stripes, he sent three titles into the highest tier on the Billboard 200: 2003’s Elephant, 2005’s Get Behind Me Satan and their final studio album, 2007’s Icky Thump. As the leader of The Dead Weather, White has helped propel a trio of albums into the top 10: 2009’s Horehound, 2010’s Sea of Cowards and their most recent effort, 2015’s Dodge and Burn.

As a soloist, White has found the most success on the Billboard 200, as all three of his recordings—2012’s Blunderbuss, 2014’s Lazaretto and last year’s Boarding House Reach—all debuted at No. 1.

The Raconteurs beat newcomer Lil Nas X to the throne this week, even though early projections had the country/hip-hop star winning this horse race. The musician’s debut EP 7 has been powered by lead single “Old Town Road,” which has now ruled the Hot 100 for an incredible 13 weeks.